IronDiets consisting of vegetables, fruits, grains,
legumes, and nuts provide adequate iron.35-40 Consuming foods
rich in
vitamin C, such as orange juice, with iron-rich foods
enhances the absorption of iron. Some foods are naturally
rich in both
iron and vitamin C, such as broccoli, Swiss chard, and other
dark green leafy vegetables. Other good iron sources include
iron-fortified cereals, enriched bread, pasta, rice,
soybeans, chickpeas, and blackstrap molasses. Dairy
products are
extremely low in iron and may interfere with
iron balance, especially in very small children.

Iron balance tends to be better on pure vegetarian diets
than on other diets. Green leafy vegetables and legumes
(beans, peas, and lentils) are
rich in a form of iron that is more absorbable if your body
needs more iron and less absorbable when your body already
has plenty of iron.
Avoiding dairy products helps, because they contain virtually
no iron and can actually inhibit iron absorption.

Most vegetarian diets are high in ascorbic acid (vitamin
C), which increases iron absorption up to six
times. making the absorption of plant-based iron as good or
better than animal-based iron.

The below listings are based on a 100 gram serving of each (the
equivalent of 3.53 ounces), listed in a descending order from the highest amount
of iron to the lowest amount of iron. We ended the table at "Milk, Human"
(breast milk) as this is the only natural source of milk-based iron for humans,
which of course is intended for our infancy. The sourse of the data listed here
is the USDA Nutrient Database: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/nut_search.pl
. Please notify us of any errors. As foods containing cholesterol may pose a
threat to human health, all foods in the following chart containing cholesterol
have had the amount of cholesterol highlighted in red. In addition, as fiber
is important to human health, all foods with no fiber have had the fiber section
highlighted in red.